Dad with face tattoo turned down for 450 rental properties by landlord

A distraught single father has shared photos of his children sleeping on mattresses on the floor after revealing he had been turned away from more than 450 rental homes.

Ash Brown, 32, and their two children have been homeless for six months despite relentless efforts to find a home, with the family living at the grandparents’ home in Adelaide.

After sharing his story on TV and pleading for help to give his children the home they deserve, the young father is bombarded with messages from trolls saying that the landlord turned him down because of his facial tattoo.

With pictures not included on most normal rental apps, the father believes his facial tattoo – ‘Blessing’ written above his brow – has nothing to do with his struggles to find a place to live.

Mr Brown and his son were forced to share a mattress on the floor while his daughter slept on the cushions of the sofa next to them.

Now taking anti-depressants to help him cope with the horror situation, Mr Brown told Daily Mail Australia he was simply asking someone to give them a chance.

Ash Brown’s children fell asleep on the floor of one of their grandparents’ house – where they lived for six months

Mr Brown, 32, has revealed his struggles to find a home for him and his two children to live in

‘I apply for the house every day. I spent every night, after the kids had gone to bed proposing, and looking everywhere I could for the house,’ she said.

“I’m really struggling with depression because of this situation. I’ve even gone to the doctor and made a mental health plan and been prescribed antidepressants. I feel like a total failure.

‘My children lost their childhood. They are too young to understand the weight of it all, but I know they are suffering quietly inside. If someone will give us a chance.’

Mr Brown blamed the huge demand for rent for his situation, revealing he was regularly forced to compete with more than 50 people on property inspections.

She also said that, as a single parent, she struggled to compete with multiple-income families.

Mr Brown suffers from depression and says his children miss their childhood

Mr Brown and his son share a mattress while the sofa cushion on the right is shared by his daughter

“I have written countless letters to the prime minister and the minister of housing, and yes they have given me a response, they say they all advocate for me where possible.

‘But to be honest I was so lost and didn’t know what else to do. Being a single father and single parent is indeed quite difficult.

‘My children are my world, don’t get me wrong, but it’s very hard to do this alone.’

She called for a major government intervention to fix Australia’s housing crisis, saying she just wanted a place for her children to call home.

Earlier this month, it emerged that rents had increased at the fastest rate in 14 years as landlords battled rising interest rates and higher inflation.

According to research firm CoreLogic’s quarterly rental review, rental rates were 9.1 percent higher across the capital and up 10.8 percent regionally compared to June 2021.

Meanwhile, the charity group Mission Australia revealed this week that at least one in 20 young people surveyed in Australia became homeless for the first time during the pandemic.

They have been homeless for five months, forcing them to sleep in the same bed together at their mother’s house in Adelaide

Brown’s son celebrates his fifth birthday on Tuesday, with the father taking the kids to a hotel so they can enjoy a change of scenery (pictured at a friend’s house)

Michelle Gegenhuber, Executive General Manager of Believe Housing Australia, earlier also said that more people are currently on the threshold of homelessness than pre-pandemic levels.

And the 2022 Rent Affordability Snippets from Anglicare Australia show that only eight of the country’s 6,000 rental listings are affordable for someone on JobSeeker, and only one place is affordable for someone on Youth Allowance.

For full-time workers on the minimum wage, 778 rents are affordable, and for those in Age Pension, only 336 are affordable.

Mr Brown said it was these factors that contributed to his struggle. He had insisted earlier that his housing issue had nothing to do with the ink on his face after the social media reaction after the TV interview.

‘They didn’t give me any excuses,’ he had previously said.

As a single parent, she says she struggles to keep up with double-income families – and insists her housing problems have nothing to do with her facial tattoos after social media backlash following a TV interview.

‘They never called me back. It’s because of the rental crisis. Every inspection I do, there are at least 50 to 60 people there applying for the same home – and I dare say many of them are double income families and households.

‘People on social media say ‘oh it’s because of your face tattoo’ but this is not the case. Not once have I been visually judged by any real estate agent because of my tattoo. Honestly, the only ratings I’ve ever received for my tattoos have been since the interview on Channel 7.

‘And the thing is, it exists for a reason, the tattoo exists. It says ‘Blessed’. I got it when I became a single father, and had to start raising my own children.

‘The whole concept of being a single parent was very new to me and difficult. I personally struggled with depression with the whole situation and wanted something to remind me every time I looked in the mirror exactly what I was struggling with. Which are my two children.’

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